New Commission, new priorities: taking financial policy forward under von der Leyen II
Financial markets have experienced heavy regulatory activity over the last 15 years – from crisis response and the founding of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), through to banking union, the creation of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), the launch of the Capital Markets Union (CMU), and more recently to the beginnings of the sustainable and digital finance agendas. This intense rule-making rollercoaster raises the question – what next? On top of this, the EU’s financial sector has been losing its edge, exemplified by the debate over EU capital markets’ waning competitiveness.
Set up in October 2023 to examine how the financial landscape is evolving and what challenges lie ahead, CEPS – along with its sister organisations ECMI and ECRI – brought together a balanced group of experts, financial sector representatives, policymakers, supervisors and academics to exchange views in a series of five closed-door meetings.
The resulting report analyses European financial market developments over the last few decades and reviews EU level achievements in financial market regulation and related areas, as well as the priorities emerging from this analysis. The report puts forward concrete recommendations on improving the regulatory and legislative framework and enhancing EU financial markets’ competitiveness in the hope that they will de duly considered and taken forward by the European Commission as it begins its work over the next few months.
11:00 – 11:30 Registration
11:30 – 11:45 Opening remarks by Jesper Berg, Task Force Chair; Former Director-General, Danish Financial Supervisory Authority
11:45 – 12:00 First reaction by John Berrigan, Director General, DG FISMA
12:00 – 13:00 Panel discussion
- Judith Arnal, Senior Research Fellow, ECRI, CEPS and Elcano Royal Institute
- Eva Maria Poptcheva, Former MEP and Vice-Chair of ECON Committee
Moderated by Karel Lannoo, CEO of CEPS; General Manager of ECMI and ECRI
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
